A recipe patent and trademark do two different things in the business world. Each provides legal protection for a different aspect of a company's products and name, however one cannot substitute for the other. An owner of a large or small business often must pursue both a patent and a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to provide a full layer of legal protection for products and logos.

Recipe Patent Requirements

A patent for a composition of matter, including a food recipe, allows you as a small-business owner sole rights to prepare your product for sale to consumers and profit from those sales for a period of years. A United States patent has strict filing requirements, and the approval process can take months to years to complete. You must describe the shape, look and ingredients that go into making your product in great detail. Your product must also meet the "nonobvious" requirement, meaning your recipe must not be easily discernible to a professional with food training or the everyday consumer.

Intended Product Use

A patent for a recipe usually covers either mass market products or those designed to perform specific functions within existing products. In seeking your patent, you must decide how you intend to use your product in the market. For example, if you're designing a product to increase the shelf-life of existing products, you must name that as your product's purpose in your patent application. You probably won't win patent approval if you have no intended use for your product or concrete business plan.

Trademark Business Uses

A trademark allows you as a business owner to protect a word, design, symbol or phrase used in connection with your company's proprietary products. Many companies large and small choose to trademark brand names for products and business logos to ensure each company's products and business logos remain easily recognizable to consumers. This helps companies maintain brand recognition over time. You have the right to enforce your trademark in court by suing for damages if another company attempts to use your company's product symbols or business logo.

Trademarks and Patents

A trademark and recipe patent can often work together for your products. You can use your legal trademark to protect the name and logo of your product while using the patent to protect the actual composition of your product. This provides dual layers of legal protection to discourage other companies from attempting to latch on to the successes of your small business. If your product is successful, your corresponding trademark and patent can also become very valuable to a larger corporation. Selling your patent and trademark could become a very lucrative business deal and allow you to diversify into other areas of business and investment.

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About the Author

Jonathan Lister has been a writer and content marketer since 2003. His latest book publication, "Bullet, a Demos City Novel" is forthcoming from J Taylor Publishing in June 2014. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Shippensburg University and a Master of Fine Arts in writing and poetics from Naropa University.